I'm in the process of purchasing a new car (diesel) and replacing one of my GTI's, but I have a dilemma.. I need to transfer the policy from my GTI onto the new vehicle so I don't lose the 7 months of the next year of no claims I've already accrued (which I would if I went to a new policy) I'm aware though that I need to have a vehicle continuously insured and taxed if I haven't declared SORN. My dilemma is I only have 3 months of tax left on the vehicle and I know what a massive pain in the bumhole the DVLA (scammers) can be to get unspent tax returned (including saying they never received the tax disc) - so it isn't worth me SORNing the vehicle if I intend to sell it very soon (plus a few months tax is positive for potential buyers) The car is going to be sat at the back of my driveway until it is sold, so won't see the light of day and any police vans scanning for tax evaders etc. My question is, will it get flagged up in the near future and will I get a fine if I cancel my insurance on that car soon and don't declare SORN seeing as it will be hidden away on my driveway? Or will it fly under the radar and be fine until the next owner insures and drives away? I hope to have the car sold within the next month. (Obviously I'll have to cross the bridge of buyer test driving when I come to it)
Mine died in August-ish, the insurance ran out at the end of August. I only got a letter reminding me to SORN it in December. You should be fine.
Why not drive it till you sell it, and then transfer the insurance to the new one? If you're buying from a dealer, maybe they'd leave it on the back of their lot till you're ready to collect?
It's a private sale, so no chance that can happen, even if I wanted it to! (which I don't) I'm actually a little excited to be getting a diesel burner! As long as I'm ok for the next month or so, I won't worry about it then. I'm guessing that as long as it has tax and isn't visibly on the roads the DVLA aren't going to jump all over it anytime soon. I've swapped my GTI off the insurance now and put the new car on, only cost me 10 to make the change, so have saved a ton of money on getting a new insurance policy - cheapest I found was 275, so that's quite a saving!
Maybe, but it's done now, the car will be sold soon, so it is what it is! I can't afford to do it any other way really, it's a bit of a ridiculous rule (ridiculous because it generally punishes the people who care, the main culprits don't give a flying eff and will do as they please anyway regarding tax and insurance and still happily drive around) especially as you can only use your no claims for one car - wonder if that will ever change..
It's inflexible and unfair. It'll feel a lot more unfair if you don't cash the tax in and end up with a fine though.
